iMight Meet You Halfway
by Harry Potter Fan 1994
Summary: Following the events in iKiss, Freddie and Sam don't know how to deal with their changing feelings...how many awkward moments will it take to make them cave in and date? Seddie! Read and review please!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly unfortunately...

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_"It's so stupid. How people freak out about their first kiss."_

And he was totally freaking out. But she thought he was stupid anyways. She made that clear daily without even having a reason. The mileage she could get out of _this..._she'd never stop making fun of him.

_"I hate you."_

_"I hate you too."_

Yeah freaking right.

_Sam_ was good with lies. _Sam_ could kiss someone and feel absolutely nothing. And even if she did, _Sam_ could pretend everything was back to normal. It took Freddie a lot more effort to maintain his level of normalcy. Especially since whenever she walked by his stomach had taken to imploding.

"Yo, Freddweeb. You've been avoiding me."

Freddie glanced up from his computer. Where had Carly gone? He always made sure she was around when Sam was there. It would be too strange to be alone with her again.

"No I haven't."

"You suck at lying."

"…No I haven't." He packed up quickly and attempted to exit the studio.

Sam rolled her eyes and blocked his way. "You're not running off until I get my answer. You barely even come to iCarly rehearsals anymore. Are you that afraid of me?" It wasn't a question of being afraid, but she didn't need to know that. At least she helped him think up an excuse.

"Yes." He thought fast. "Being around you hurts. I think I still have carpet burns from last Tuesday."

"Bull. Absolute bull. That never stopped you before."

"Well…" She kept giving him perfect opportunities. "I put up with it before to be around Carly. Back when I liked her."

Sam frowned. "So you don't…"

"Not really."

"So you're over…"

"Yeah." Freddie watched Sam mull it over. He didn't know if he hoped to achieve anything by telling her his Carly-obsession was gone. Hopefully not, because she didn't seem interested. He was completely confused by her and his feelings for her.

"Oh. And now you won't hang out with her because of me? You idiot."

"No. I still come over here all the time. I just wait until Lewbert stops screaming about 'little blonde hags destroying the building.'"

He couldn't read her expression, but he hoped she would leave him alone.

"Well. That's kinda harsh."

He shrugged. "Are we done here?"

Freddie couldn't tell if she was bothered or not. Did he want her to be?

"Whatever. CARLY! WHERE'D MY FRIED CHICKEN GO?!"

* * *

It didn't matter what Freddie did. That one night's memory played over and over again in his mind. Kissing her was the best thing that ever happened to him. How was he supposed to not think about it?

"Hey."

"Carly! Hey. What's up?" He hadn't even heard his mom let her in.

"Not much. What're you doing out here?" she asked, jerking her head at the fire escape.

He shrugged. "I don't know. I kind of like to people-watch from up here."

"Creepy," Carly joked.

Freddie grinned. "Why aren't you at home? Isn't Sam over?"

"Yeah. But I walked out for like thirty seconds to get our mail and when I came back she'd polished off everything in the fridge. And Spencer just got groceries this morning."

"It's Sam, what do you exp--"

"She's really upset. She doesn't want to admit it, but she is. Yeah, she eats, but you didn't see her just now...What did you say to her yesterday?"

"What makes it my fault?"

"Because she started acting like this after you left the studio last night. I didn't know you had it in you to upset Sam," she teased.

"Yeah. Neither did I."

Something about that tipped Carly off. His eyes lost focus, his voice got softer, and he was smiling absentmindedly. She knew all the signs. She'd seen it before on him, usually when he was referring to herself. "You like her."

"No! Not at all! Never. Sam? Yeah right."

"Just admit it!" She punched his arm lightly.

"I don't like her."

"Sure you don't. That's not the reason you suddenly got over me. Or why you blush whenever I mention her."

"I don't blush!"

"Yeah you do. Seriously, Freddie, I know you. You can't hide that from me. There's nothing wrong with liking Sam."

"It's just that..." Freddie scratched the back of his neck and looked away. "I'd hate...I'm sick of...I don't want to...to like another girl that doesn't like me back. The last three years sucked. Not that it was your fault, Carly. I get that I'm not your type or whatever, but that didn't make me feel any better whenever you went out with Josh and Kyle and Steven and whoever else...'

"I never dated a Kyle."

"I was just making names up. But anyways, I'm not going to sit here and pull another I-like-her-but-she-thinks-I'm-scum for the next three years."

Carly smiled at him. "Come on, Freddie, don't do that. I don't think you're scum and neither does Sam. Any girl would be lucky to have you. You're smart and sweet and--well, famous."

"A famous _geek_."

"So is Bill Gates! Look at him now, he's the richest guy in the world. Right?"

"Sure."

"The point is, _whoever_ it is that you like, I don't think you should give up. And even if you want to give up on liking her, at least stay friends with her. You've got a really great relationship with Sam--whether you two want to admit it or not."

Freddie nodded. "Thanks, Carly."

"Hug?"

He grinned and embraced her. There was a time when he would've given anything to be in this position. Why had things gotten so complicated since then? Obsessive crushes were by far the easiest types of infatuation to handle.

"So. 'Over Carly,' huh?"

Freddie shoved Carly away in a millesecond. "Sam!"

The blonde leaned against the fire escape window and gazed coolly at the two of them. "Freddie, you're such a nub. Carly's never going to like you."

"I know--I don't really--I mean, I'm okay with that, because I don't like her either."

"Of course you don't."

"I swear!"

Sam raised both her hands in surrender. "Don't mind me. I was just checking where Carly was. You got any ham in your fridge, Carls?"

Carly opened her mouth to scold Sam for walking in, but she was too late. Freddie ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "You see what I mean, Carly? You see? You're all the same, you just don't _care._" He walked right past Sam. "Get off my fire escape. I'm going to bed."

The blonde watched him go with a smirk. "What's got his boxers in a twist?"

"Sam..."

"I know, I know. 'Sam, this is all your fault!' 'I didn't do it!' 'It's all your fault!' 'I didn't do it!' We can skip that part. What didn't I do?"

Carly sighed. How was she supposed to get Sam to like Freddie when he wouldn't take that job on himself? "Nevermind. Are you sleeping over?"

"It's like seven. We can decide that later. Listen, I've got this great iCarly idea where we can put little suction cups on Gibby's hands and feet and stick him to the ceiling of the studio..."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly :(

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Sam had a weird, sinking feeling in her gut. It might have come from eating too many Fudge Balls, but she was pretty sure it had started when she saw Freddie and Carly holding each other out on the fire escape.

It wasn't like there was anything going on between them. She knew that. But her gut didn't feel like listening.

"Sam?"

"Hey Carls. What goes on?"

"Not much. Listen. I know you and Freddie had this misunderstanding--"

"It wasn't a misunderstanding. The dork said he never wanted to see me again; I understood that pretty well." She groaned. "Those Cheese Puffs are really getting to me..."

"They don't call gluttony a deadly sin for nothing. You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah. I might throw up a bit, but--"

"I meant about Freddie."

Sam snorted. "Yeah. Who cares about that dweeb?"

"You do."

"No I don't."

There was a knock at Carly's door. "That's him now. I want you guys to make up, okay?"

"We didn't even fight!"

Carly let him in. "Hey."

"Hey Carly. Hey Sam," Freddie greeted.

"Nerd."

"Nice to see you too."

"Time out. Here's how this is gonna work. Freddie, you say hi. Sam, you say hi back. Then Freddie, you say 'I'm sorry about all that crud I was mumbling about yesterday, can we be friends again?' and Sam, you go 'sure thing, Benson, now let's go grab a smoothie.' And...go!"

Freddie and Sam just stared at her.

"_Do it_!"

"Hi."

"Hi."

"I'm sorry about that crud I was mumbling about yesterday, can we be friends again?"

"Sure thing, Benson, now let's go grab a smoothie."

Carly smiled. "Good."

"Can I go now?" asked Sam.

"No! Now hug."

"_What_?"

"I said _hug_!"

Sam and Freddie had about a split second to decide if they were more afraid of Carly or the feelings they got whenever they were close to each other. Tentatively, Freddie opened his arms.

"No way am I--"

"Sam..." Carly's eyes glinted dangerously. Sam shuddered. Carly was nice enough when she wasn't completely ticked. No one had ever seen Carly super mad, and even Sam wasn't about to find out what that looked like. The blonde tried wrapping her arms around Freddie, but it was too awkward.

"You go left, I go right," Freddie whispered.

"Then we're going the same way, genius!"

"Then we both go left!"

They really shouldn't have. Suddenly it was too comfortable. How weird was it that Sam's body just fit into his? Or that she kind of liked it when he held her close like this? She could feel his breath in her ear and his hands on her back and he smelled really, really good and it was driving her _crazy_. A little, very angry voice in the back of her head told her it was time to let go, that she had been holding on for waaaay too long, but it was so easy to ignore...

"Are you guys done?"

Quickly, they shoved each other away and questioned, "Are you happy now?"

Carly smirked. "You have no idea."

* * *

"For our next segment, we're going to paint..."

"With Sam's mom's stilettos!"

Sam and Carly held up two monstrous heels in front of the camera.

"How does your mom _walk_ in those?" asked Freddie.

"Real fast, same way I kissed your sorry fa--" Sam stopped, eyes widening.

Carly and Freddie froze. For about a minute, no one made a sound. The camera, unfortunately, continued to roll. Thousands of iCarly viewers around the world watched the blood slowly drain from Sam's face.

"So..._that_ would be why we don't let Freddie talk during the show," Carly said nervously.

"We're gonna cut this a little short. That's our show for today!" announced Sam, pulling herself together.

"Here to say goodbye is Sam's pet dust bunny!"

Freddie zoomed in on a disgusting mass of lint and dirt while Sam prodded it with a stick and Carly made weird noises--"dust bunny language".

"And we're clear," said Freddie awkwardly. "Uh...I guess we need to talk..."

"Yeah we do. Sam, what was that all about?"

The blonde shrugged, desperately trying to keep a disinterested expression. "I meant to say..." Missed, hissed, schnissed... "...dissed?"

"Nice save. Too bad we're not idiots," Freddie snapped. "We promised not to tell _anyone_, and you went and yelled it to the whole world. You just can't keep secrets, can you?"

"Wait...she was serious? You guys kissed?"

"_And_ promised not to tell--"

"We got it, Freddie, okay? I'm a big loudmouth who lives to make sure your whole life's story is on the Internet. So shut up."

"Why did you guys--when did this--what--I am _so_ confused!" said Carly unhappily. "Let me get this straight. Sam--who won't even sit on the couch three hours after you leave because she hates 'nerd germs'--actually put her _mouth_ on you?"

Perhaps that wasn't the smartest thing to tell him after he'd been so open about his fear of rejection.

"Sure," Freddie replied dully.

"And how come when you promised not to tell anyone, that included me?"

"Sorry," muttered Sam.

"And why did you suddenly decide to tell every iCarly viewer online tonight?"

Freddie waited expectantly, but Sam glared. "Leave, Benson."

"What?"

"I said get out. This has nothing to do with you."

"Yes it does, it has every--"

Sam shoved him out of the studio.

"Well, that was gentle. Do I need to repeat myself?"

"No...just don't laugh."

Carly frowned. "Why would I laugh?"

"Because the reason I told everyone--I didn't mean to. You know how I am about keeping promises. But..." She shot a glance through the door's window to make sure Freddie wasn't listening. He was glaring back at her, so she just lowered her voice. "It's been bothering me."

"What do you mean?"

"Like I can't get it out of my head!"

Carly tried not to smile. "Then I can--"

Freddie pounded against the door wildly, gesturing at the laptop.

"What does that dorkwad want?"

"What a romantic petname. Why's he pointing at--holy cow! Look at all the messages coming in!"

Their inbox was filling rapidly. Freddie couldn't even blink. It was heaven to his tech-producer mind. They'd never gotten so many comments, ever.

Carly let Freddie in and they started opening up messages.

'sam kissed freddie?'

'u2 r dating? since when?'

'whoa! seddie forever!'

'i can't believe it! you kissed! finally! i've been waiting for SOOOO long! seddie 4 life!'

'AHHH! WAIT TIL I TELL THE SEDDIE FANDOM!"

'Quack quack! Quack quack! --Love, Mandy'

There were no words to describe the tension in that room.

"Seddie?" Sam scoffed.

"Fandom?" mouthed Freddie.

"People _in _Seddie fandoms?" Today was full of surprises for Carly. "They're...are they _all_ comments about what Sam blurted?"

"Every...single...one. Except for Mandy."

"Good old Mandy," Sam tried. Freddie couldn't even meet her eye.

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Reviews are greatly appreciated :)

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	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly.

* * *

Upset did not even begin to describe what Freddie was feeling. Did Sam really disrespect him enough to spill his secrets on the internet? Again? She'd promised him no one would ever know. It wasn't the fact that their kiss was out in the open that bothered him, it was that Sam evidently didn't consider him important enough to remain silent.

As the seconds ticked by, though, Freddie realized more and more that this was not the case.

"You guys, this is gonna sound really mean..."

Freddie and Sam did not want to hear it. They slipped deeper into their beanbags.

"But look at how much more popular iCarly got just because people _thought_ you were dating."

"You want us to _date_ just to get more people to watch iCarly?" Freddie assumed incredulously.

"No! Not at all. I was just thinking...why don't you guys go out?"

"It's Freddie. I still have some dignity."

"It's Sam. I don't have a death wish."

Carly rolled her eyes. "Fine. Then I want you to look each other in the eye and say 'I will never, ever, ever date you."

Sam and Freddie pointedly looked away, clearing their throats, running their hands through their hair, and otherwise stalling.

"Ha! I told you--"

"CARLY! CARLY, HELP!" Spencer yelled from downstairs. "MY HAIR JUST CAUGHT ON FIRE!"

"Oh gosh..." Carly grabbed her handy-dandy fire extinguisher (you always needed one with Spencer around) and rushed to the stairs. "I'll be right back!"

"How did he...?" Freddie wondered.

"Hairdryer. Bet you twenty bucks."

"No way, you're probably right."

Sam sauntered over to the door. She hated his voice too much to stay. It used to be squeaky and girlish and easy to make fun of but now it was just one more thing that made her think very stupid thoughts whenever she was near him. "See you later, Freddork. I've got hot dogs calling my name."

"But Carly's coming right back up. We've still got to discuss ideas for the next show. I'm busy all week."

"Like we need you."

Freddie rolled his eyes. Sam sat as far from him as the room would allow, which didn't escape his attention. He inched closer to test her, and Sam casually stepped back, cursing when she found herself pressed up against a wall. Why was the studio so small?

"So...you wouldn't never, ever, ever date me, huh?"

Sam narrowed her eyes. "No. But I'd definitely never, ever date you."

"Is there a difference?"

"Mine takes less time to say." And it was laced with hope for Freddie.

He edged closer to her. "What's your problem?"

"Why do you _always_ ask that when you know what the answer is gonna be?"

"If it's me, then how come you won't beat me up anymore? What's it been, like two weeks now?"

"You wanna get beaten up, then keep coming over here. No problem."

Freddie took inched nearer. "You look nervous." He could barely hide a grin.

"One more step and I swear I'll punch your face in, Benson."

He wasn't even a foot away from her now, probably close enough to hear her thumping heart, which had suddenly decided to beat a zillion times faster. She hoped he couldn't see the heat that had risen to her face.

"You weren't very convincing," he whispered as he leaned towards her. Her throat was too clogged up for her to ask what the heck he was talking about. "You don't really hate me, do you? I didn't think so then, either."

Closer...closer...the feeling was unbelievable. Later, Sam would have liked to say she kept her cool, that when his lips came close enough to brush hers, she didn't have to lean back on the wall because her knees had decided to turn to Jell-o. But she would've been lying.

Closer...closer...

"Is there a towel in here? Carly over did the extinguish--Freddie?"

The two snapped out of it and whipped around. Spencer was staring at them confusedly. It would take him a little bit to get over the unexpectedness of it all, but he'd figure it out. Sam went with her first instinct and punched Freddie in the gut.

"Ow! What was that for?!"

"I told you I'd hit you!"

"Yeah, but in the face!"

"I can do that too, just hold still--don't you dare run, Benson!"

Sam attempted to follow Freddie out the door, but Spencer caught the back of her shirt. The artist was still shell-shocked. "Sam...I can't believe I'm asking this, but...was I interrupting something?"

"No." Sam's tone was so forceful that Spencer couldn't believe or question her.

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Review please! :)


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I own nothing...

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Carly looked up from putting the fire extinguisher away. First, Freddie ran out the door without saying a word to her. Sam followed soon after, not even registering that her best friend was in the room. Then Spencer shuffled down the stairs, his hair still covered in foam.

"Spencer, weren't you supposed to get a towel?"

"Uh...yeah."

"Where is it?"

He shrugged.

"Why did Sam and Freddie leave?"

Suddenly, he snapped into Secret-Agent mode. Before telling her, he made sure the door was locked and then pulled her over to the kitchen. "You're not gonna believe me, but I swear it's true."

"What happened?"

"I think Freddie was about to kiss Sam."

He waited for her shocked/terrified/amazed expression, but Carly just seemed extra-excited.

"And?"

"And? That's all you can say? Your two best friends who've hated each other since the beginning of time, or at least since they were born, I don't really know. Hey, do you think--"

"Spencer, tell me what happened!"

"Nothing! I walked in and they stopped and got all embarrassed and then they left."

Carly's jaw dropped. He had to be kidding. After all this hard work...nothing? She took a glass of water and dumped it on his head.

"HEY! What was that for?!"

"For interrupting! I spent _this whole week_ trying to get them together, and when they almost do you WALK IN THE ROOM? How could you?!"

Spencer rubbed water out of his eyes, hoping his head wouldn't spin off in confusion. "I'm so sorry. I didn't realize it was a crime to look for a towel _in my own apartment!_"

Carly sighed deeply. "That was the closest they'd gotten all week. Now they probably won't talk to each other again."

"Why not?"

"Awkwardness, Spencer! How old _are_ you? Did you forget how klutzy teenagers are?"

Carly stomped off to her room, leaving poor Spencer wondering just how he'd gotten her so mad. And if he'd gotten any gray hairs.

* * *

It didn't matter how much she ate. Sam did not gain a pound. And Freddie would not leave her mind.

Maybe if she broke something...like an arm...like a dork's arm...

While she searched for Gibby's phone number, she came across a grayish, moldy lump under her bed. That stupid meatball. She never ate it. Who knew why. But it was still there, eyeing her, laughing at her sole insecurity: that idiot tech nerd who couldn't have just accepted the meatball and moved on with his life. No. He _had_ to kiss her.

So. Many. Stupid. Flashbacks.

"Why is this even _happening_?" Unfortunately, Gibby's phone number eluded her, so she settled with throwing a hairbrush across the room. He was a dweeb! A geek! A wimp! A girl!

Sam growled and tried to resist the urge to pull out her hair. Unless that would get rid of the memories.

* * *

Freddie could not stop smiling. Yes, he hadn't gotten his kiss; yes, Sam would probably avoid him for the next three years; but at least he _knew_. He knew he affected her, even if it was just a little. Otherwise he wouldn't be alive to tell the tale of their almost-kiss.

"Mom, I think things are looking up!" he said happily.

"Fredward, dear, don't _ever_ look up. The sun could burn your eyes out!"

* * *

Sam took a deep breath and knocked on Freddie's door. The tech producer himself answered, surprised to see her.

"Hey."

"Hey." Now that she was here, she didn't think she'd be able to pull this off. But maybe...just maybe... "Listen. Carly was just talking to me. She said--for the good of iCarly, ONLY--that we should go on one date, and videotape it, and put bits of it on the show."

"Really."

"Yeah."

Freddie smirked and leaned back against the door. "Okay. So ask me."

"Huh?"

"You heard me. Carly didn't tell _me_ to go on the date, she told _you_. Which means _you've_ got to ask me out."

"That makes no sense, you nub!"

"Sure it does. But if you don't think so, I guess I'm going back inside..."

Why exactly was she doing this again? "Okay, fine! Date me or I'll beat you up."

Freddie thought over it. He considered making her sugarcoat that a little, but it was Sam. She really wasn't going to get any nicer.

"Alright. When are you picking me up?"

"Don't. Push. It."

He laughed. "Whatever. Where are we going?"

"I don't care, as long as it's got food."

"Taco Schmaco?"

"Yeah."

"Cool, I'll see you then. Oh, and by the way, Sam?"

"What?"

"You really _are _a good liar. Carly called like ten minutes ago, said Spencer told her what happened, and told me she wasn't going to force us to do anything."

He closed the door.

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Review please! :)


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